Prior: Despite soreness, rehab on right path

Mark Prior experienced some soreness in his Achilles' tendon on the day after his first minor-league rehabilitation start, but said it's just the residual effect from pitching.

"It's like if you went running for the first time and you haven't run in a long time," Prior said. "Your legs are sore, you know it, and you feel it every time you walk. Pain is something where you're grimacing and hurting all the way through it.

"As of right now it's just sore. Most athletes, we can tell the difference between pain and soreness. Sometimes you make the wrong call and you push your pain. But right now we're going in the right direction."

Prior will throw around 60 pitches in his next outing Tuesday in Lansing, and plans to work on some new things.

"I've got to throw my changeup, I'm going to have to work out of the stretch," he said. "I'm going to have to put myself in situations that might not be dictated by [the game situation], just so I can get ready to come up here and pitch."

He'll throw 75 pitches in his final rehab start at Triple-A Iowa on May 30, with the idea of returning to the Cubs on June 4 or 5. There's no firm timetable, and Prior said he could possibly make two or three starts at Iowa.

"There's no sense in rushing me so I can get one or two extra [Cubs ] starts if it's going to cost me five or six from rushing things," he said.

Lineup shuffle

Manager Dusty Baker inserted Michael Barrett into the No. 2 slot for the first time, after trying Ramon Martinez, Todd Hollandsworth and Damian Jackson in the spot since dropping Corey Patterson to seventh. Barrett responded with two solo home runs.

Mike Remlinger should be ready to return from the disabled list by the Houston series Tuesday, though fellow lefty Kent Mercker is a candidate to replace him on the DL with back problems. Mercker hasn't pitched since May 15.